Question

Give scientific reasons:

Older mothers have greater chance of conceiving abnormal children.

Answer 1

• In older women the menopausal age approaches.
• The oocytes, released from ovaries during this phase are not normal.
• Their meiotic cell division is abnormal and thus oocyte becomes abnormal too.
• If such abnormal oocytes are fertilized, the baby is born with many genetic problems, e.g. Down’s syndrome or Turner’s syndrome.